Short Summary

The Laotian Prime Minister, Prince Souvanna Phouma, announced in Vientiane on Monday (20 August) that Government forces had repulsed an attempted coup by exiled military officers.

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The Laotian Prime Minister, Prince Souvanna Phouma, announced in Vientiane on Monday (20 August) that Government forces had repulsed an attempted coup by exiled military officers.

The coup attempt began just before dawn on Monday when forces under Thao Ma, a former Air Force general, bombed the Chinaimo military camp, five miles(8KM) outside Vientiane.

The rebel forces, numbering about 40, tried to capture the airport and the national radio station. The rebels seized three T-28 bombers and fired at army forces loyal to Prince Souvanna Phouma.

But the coup began to collapse quickly just two hours after it began when Government forces shot down the T-28 seized and flown by Thao Ma.

With their leader shot down, the remainder of the rebels involved in the coup began to flee the airport. It was then that most of them were arrested.

On Tuesday (21 August), a statement from Vientiane said that 11 men had been executed by firing squad for their part in the aborted coup. Acting Laotian Defence Minister Sisouk Na Champassak told a news conference that former Colonel Pani Phonithipsayanh, one of the ringleaders of the coup, and ten of the other men had been shot.